Research Impact: Findings demonstrate that a small number of Rugby playing schools in Ireland are considered well-resourced in terms of physiotherapy provision and access to medical doctors and S&C coaches, yet consensus guidelines for injury surveillance are reliant upon qualified staff for recording. The vast majority of schools (86%) formally monitor Rugby injuries however, injury surveillance and prevention practices vary considerable across schools. It is also apparent that female Rugby teams do not participate in S&C and injury prevention practices when available in their school. As outlined in the recently published community Rugby surveillance guidelines (Brown et al., 2019), future injury surveillance and prevention projects should reflect the availability of qualified staff and structural organisation of the school Rugby system so that reported injury incidence data are not solely representative of the elite or well-resourced schools.
Leahy, T.M., Kenny, I.C., Campbell, M.J., Warrington, G.D., Cahalan, R., Harrison, A.J., Lyons, M., Glynn, L.G., Purtill, H., & Comyns, T.M. 2020. Injury surveillance and prevention practices across Rugby schools in Ireland. Physical Therapy in Sport, 43, pp. 134-142. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ptsp.2020.02.006.
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